"Who do you see that I am?: Global Perspectives on Jesus Films.

Abstract

How might new representations of Jesus be shaping Christian theology of the future? With an ever-greater diversity of Christian ethnicities, cultures, and theologies, we see new images of Jesus as well as a greater diversity of ways of visually engaging him. esus, elusive as he remains to historical critics, is alive and well in cinemas around the world. No other historical figure has been the subject of as many film productions, and a great many adherents garner their personal christologies from what they have seen acted out on screen, consciously or unconsciously. These images come not only from the industrial film production companies of Hollywood, but increasingly from areas that used to be considered “remote.” Our aim here is twofold. First, and quite simply, we mean to highlight for many English-speaking scholars the plethora of international films about Jesus and to encourage further reflection on these. Along with the increasing globalization of Christianity, especially into the southern hemisphere, and radical reshaping of the faith that this entails (Jenkins 2002, 2008; Sanneh and Carpenter; McGrath), there is simultaneously a new production of Christian media in the form of film, video,